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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125378">swimming in your waters</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/usure/pseuds/usure'>usure</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Greenhouse Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Chronic Pain, F/M, Families of Choice, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, Slow Burn, beach saga, daniel just wants to run leave him alone, why have love triangles when polyamory exists!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:35:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125378</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/usure/pseuds/usure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel is starting to regret telling Brooke about the location of his morning runs. It’s not so bad when it’s just her interrupting his mornings. But then Hayley shows up. Then Leo. Then Alex. Then the entire goddamn school.</p><p>(Fists may fly, body parts could be mutilated, confessions might be heard, there’s the possibility of an explosion. Or two. Love is definitely not in the equation)</p><p>Inspired by that picture. You know, that picture. </p><p> </p><p>— a post-Black Smoke AU —</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leo Cruz/Daniel Hayward/Hayley Woods</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. not your sister, fearful temper</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello lovely folks,</p><p>i hope that your night/evening/morning/day is going well! i am honestly very very tired right now i feel like a grandma lol. i’m hoping to regularly update this fic, but no promises. anyways , the song title is from “River” by UMI, which is definitely worth a listen. please stay safe and wash your hands often!</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>chapter title inspo: « deadcrush » by Alt-J</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s just barely dawn when Daniel starts running. Usually, trekking through the sand is difficult enough that he has to focus completely on the constantly shifting terrain. His first sprained ankle of many at the Greenhouse Academy had taught him that. Usually, he can ignore the politics and complexities that have come with the Wood siblings’ arrival. It’s just another thing to sweep under the rug, along with his mother’s increasing tight smiles and Brooke’s inability to look him in the eye. But today is not a usual day, and his mind remains focused on the somebody (or somebodies) that had dominated his mind for the past week. If it was any other day, he would still be in bed, and if he were any less disciplined (what a good disciplined boy, his mother always said. his mother!) he would stay in bed the entire day. As it was, he was sweating buckets at the ass-crack of dawn, another couple of miles yet to go before the rabbiting beat of heart and the trembling coldness would dissipate. The constant fixation on two very annoying somebodies wasn't helpful either.</p><p>It wasn’t as though they actually mattered to him. To be perfectly honest, it shouldn’t have mattered to him longer than the few seconds it took to roll his eyes and lightly scoff. The Eagles and the Ravens had a healthy competitive relationship that left little room for anything else, he knows this. It really shouldn’t matter to him that the Ravens captain, rather than continuing his incessant hovering over girl Woods, avoided her with a doggedness that reminded him of Alex’s first attempts to bond with the Eagles. He shouldn’t know that Hayley bore a closer resemblance to a rampaging bull everytime that Leo ignored, deflected and/or avoided her (he was talented enough to do all three at the same time). It seemed lately that everyone who surrounded him was a stubborn asshole or an oblivious idiot. Lucky him, why does he care actu-. </p><p>   A rock managed to place itself directly in the zigzag path Daniel was running, large enough that when Daniel rammed his toe directly into it a large piece of skin was violently stripped from his big toe. </p><p>He flopped gracelessly onto the sand, already feeling blood trickle into the sand. Filled with a sudden weariness (not sudden, just ignored and repressed), Daniel shoved his face into the palms of his hands, feeling his dry eyes burn from exhaustion. Daniel feels a throb of pain in his calf ( no, that should be impossible) when he contorts himself into a sitting position, hunched over his knees. He stared dazedly out into the waves, letting the early morning sun blind his vision and leave behind glaring white impressions. Now he's both literally and figuratively blind.</p><p>"What are you doing? Isn't sulking indoors enough for you?" </p><p>He spun around so quickly that he could feel his neck crack. Behind him, standing just five feet up the shore, was Girl Woods. He rolled his eyes, and just barely resisted the urge to flip her off. But that would have proved her point, so he didn’t. Just barely.</p><p>“Why are you even up this early?” Daniel snapped.</p><p>She raised a single eyebrow in response , arms folded tightly across her stomach.</p><p>“Couldn't sleep, decided to check out this beach as a potential running spot. Didn’t realize that it was already taken,” she shrugged her shoulders lightly, “No need to get so defensive”</p><p>Daniel could feel the beginnings of a headache starting at the back of his skull. Hayley somehow looked both bored and smug, it was an enviable and irritating talent. She continued talking, not seeming to realize Daniel’s rising ire</p><p>“And what did you even manage to do to your foot? You’re literally bleeding all over the sand.” Hayley said.</p><p>His eye twitched violently, and with a low growl Daniel started hobbling back the way he came. He heard a snort behind him that he aggressively ignored, more focused on the throbbing pain in his foot. Shitty-as-fuck rock.</p><p>“ Nice conversation Daniel. Really had a connection there. Try not to fight anymore rocks.” She called from behind him, clearly trying to smother a laugh.</p><p>He gave up on today being even remotely pleasant.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. sound of old mileage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A wild Alex appears!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey y’all!</p>
<p>Sorry for the long break! Things have been very hectic with all of my jobs, and I’m trying to quit one, which is a lot harder than I was expecting. This is why I’m posting this chapter on very little sleep early in the morning. I will be going over this chapter to catch typos at some point in the next couple of days. Anyways, enjoy!</p>
<p>Chapter title inspiration: “Dennis” by Roy Blair</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dude, why are you talking to my sister.”</p>
<p>Daniel decides that homicide is a reasonable option when the human version of a golden lab chooses Daniel’s morning run is the perfect time to interrogate him about anything and everything. Daniel viciously reminded himself to corner Ron, he was supposed to be the main line of defense against Alex Woods, and clearly he's been neglecting his very important job. At the moment though, there's little that he can do but pretend to pay attention to the kid's rambling. </p>
<p>“Why does it matter?” He speeds up slightly, hoping that Alex would get the hint and leave him alone. “She’s her own person you know. She doesn’t need to run stuff by you.”</p>
<p>Daniel could feel the side eye that Alex’s sends him. “Are you seriously lecturing me on women’s free will? You, of all people?”</p>
<p>“And what’s so wrong about that?” Daniel’s voice came out sharper than he intended, and he immediately regrets his decision as Alex’s expression closes off. Look, he knows that he was a jackass, far past the extent that most people were willing to deal with. Daniel’s surprised that anyone will talk to him at all after all the decisions that he’s made this year. </p>
<p>“Look, I know that I’m a dick,” Alex snorts at that but doesn’t say anything else, “Usually I own being a piece of work. But I’m not enough of a jackass to not understand consent, or other basic human rights. I also try not to be a bigot. Or a homophobe, or anything that ends with a -phobe.”</p>
<p>“Good,” Tension in Alex’s shoulders drained, tension that Daniel didn’t even notice. Alex looked up with a mischievous grin, “I would hate having to beat you up.”</p>
<p>The corner of Daniel’s mouth, Alex’s cheer absolutely infectious. “ You can sure try, Woods. I doubt that you’d even land a punch.”</p>
<p>Alex laughed outright, the clear sound ringing through the early morning air. Daniel hadn’t even noticed that the two of them had slowed to a walk. He turns towards the ocean and watches the sun rise, a cascade of water rippling over the surface of the ocean, and the clear lanes of water that form as waves rise above the horizon.</p>
<p>“ How’s your leg doing?” Daniel startles at the sudden question, and forcibly draws his gaze from the ocean. Alex’s eyebrows are doing their concerned pose, and it’s weird for Daniel that he’s at the receiving end of that look. “I mean, from what I heard it was pretty bad. Emergency room bad.”</p>
<p>Daniel’s immediate reflex was to snap at Alex, but he squashed down that urge. He takes a couple of purposely deep breaths.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t that bad,” At Alex’s disbelieving look Daniel scoffed, “I just ignored it when I shouldn’t have. It got infected, I messed up. End of story.”</p>
<p>Alex looks like he wants to protest this, but Daniel glares at him as he starts opening his mouth. Alex pales slightly, but starts to talk anyways.</p>
<p>“What does my sister even see in you? You’re like a caveman, always grunting and glaring at people. Monosyllabic when you do feel like talking. I wouldn’t be surprised if one day if you pulled a club out of nowhere and started swinging it-“</p>
<p>“Alex?”</p>
<p>“Yes?”</p>
<p>“Kindly fuck off,”</p>
<p>Alex bolts before Daniel can even think about putting him in a headlock. He stops running, breathing just on the edge of unpleasantly fast, and watches Alex’s hair bob up and down as he makes his way back to the campus. Daniel can feel the corners of his mouth twitch upwards, and he doesn’t bother to force the grin back down. It’s not as though there was anyone there to see him.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading! please show some love if you want to! Now it’s time for me to sleep for 10 hours straight.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. honey you are the sea, upon which i float</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It seems like a baptism, a clean start and something that offered complete absolution (despite the harshness of his mother’s beliefs, her belief in the sole existence of a wrathful and vengeful God... he believes in that whatever God there is must be kind and merciful, something softer than the God he was raised to believe in). He breathes in the salt-tinged air, and revels in the warm touch of the hands clasped lightly around his. It’s then, that he knows that he’ll remember this moment, even as age makes him forget everything else.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hello lovely people!</p><p>i apologise for the late update, finals have been killing me and my old computer died on me. however, i have a detailed outline for the rest of the story, so i'm hoping to update sometime in january, if not sooner. thank you so much for taking the time to read this chapter, it's kind of a doozy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Brooke huffs and puffs next to him while they slow to a stop. Her usually perfectly placed ponytail is tangled and knotted from the wind blowing off the ocean, and her cheeks are roughened red. It’s times like this when he realizes how beautiful she is when anyone else would look terrible. It almost makes him regret their mutual decision to break up. It’s only a second-long thought, because they’re much better at friends than they were at being girlfriend and boyfriend. He ruffles her hair up even more, hand tugging playfully at her hair tie.</p><p>She narrows her eyes at him, but starts laughing anyways. Daniel can feel himself smirking right up until when he feels a foot hooking around his. As he falls with the grace of an blind elephant, he can Brooke’s laughs reach a decibel higher than he thought humanly possible.</p><p>“You sound like a fucking hyena,” Daniel grumbles, pushing himself up and shaking sand out of his pockets (how did it get there, what the fuck?). After quickly planning his revenge, he lunges for Brooke’s legs, wraps his arms around her calves, and tugs downward. She yelps, and he realizes a second to late that his foolproof plan had Brooke landing right on top of him.</p><p>“Oh shi-” He’s not even halfway the curse word when Brooke collides with him. A wheezy exhale is all Daniel is able to get out with her dead weight on top of him.</p><p>“You really didn’t think that through, Danny,” She says, somehow looking completely put together. At this point, he thinks that Brooke has super powers or something else equally ridiculous. There’s no other explanation for why she always looks like she walked straight out of a magazine, even when covered with sand and wind-roughened.</p><p>“Let me embarrass myself in peace, Jesus,” Brooke just raises an eyebrow in response, and her lips curl into a smirk.</p><p>“When you mess up, fess up.” Daniel sputters at the juvenile answer, and shoves Brooke off of him.</p><p>“What are you, a kindergartener?”</p><p>“Hah! If I’m a kindergartener, you’re a preschooler.”</p><p>“Well, if I’m a preschooler, you were born yesterday!”</p><p>“Even if I was born yesterday, I would still be smarter than you!”</p><p>“Well, Yo Mama-”</p><p>“Please, anything but a Yo Mama joke, I’m begging you.” Daniel smirks.</p><p>“Too bad. Yo Mama so dumb-” Daniel’s cut off by a face full of sand, and while he’s spitting sand out of his mouth, Brooke is already upright and running away. She looks over her shoulder, grinning all the while, and shouts:</p><p>“You snooze, you lose! Race you to the cove!” Daniel hauls himself to his feet, a competitive grin already forming on his face. There was no way he was losing to Brooke, she’d never let him live it down.</p><p>“What the fuck! You cheated!” He starts running and almost slips when his shoe slides halfway off his foot. He can hear her laughing at him as he just tugs his shoe off and keeps running, holding it by the tag. “When I catch you, you’re dead meat!”</p><p>*************</p><p>“ I almost beat you.” </p><p>They’re both panting in a cove far down the beach from the Academy. The beige sand has morphed into black pumice spires and curls, and the water hits the rocks with a resounding roar every time a wave comes in. The sun is setting, hitting the edges of the rock and creating a red halo around every crack and caveat. A few seagulls drift over the waves, but the majority of them avoid the area. Daniel is sitting on a rock, trying to put his wayward shoe back on and catch his breath at the same time. Brooke is standing in front of him, victorious despite the slick sheen of sweat covering her skin.</p><p>“Well, almost doesn’t count.” The self-satisfied smirk on Brooke’s face makes him want to shove a fistful of sand in her face and see what she does then. But he knows that he would end up buried to his head in the sand and missing both of his shoes. If the taser fiasco taught him anything, it was to avoid picking battles that he knew he couldn’t win. Brooke was terrifying enough that even Alex, that dumbass, hesitated in making her mad. Going by the increasingly terrifying smile on Brooke, she knows exactly what he’s thinking. </p><p>“Anything you want to say?” Her saccharine tone makes Daniel even more tempted to pick up a handful of sand. He barely manages to restrain himself from following through.</p><p>“No.” He glares at her, regretting ever thinking it was a good idea to date her (that’s a fucking lie, Brooke does nothing but make him a better person), “I’m good.”</p><p>“Well, that’s good! Because I have a couple of questions for you.” She sits down next to him without waiting for him to respond, and then turns to face him while wiggling her eyebrow. </p><p>“Oh jeez, spare me.” Brooke just laughed in response and Daniel found himself pouting (he’s not a two year, why the hell is his face doing that?)</p><p>“Nope!” She scooches closer and gently elbows him in the side. “So… Leo? And Hayley?”</p><p>Daniel can feel his shoulders tensing. It’s not as though Brooke sounded like anything other than supportive, but he’s fresh off a conversation with his mom where she made it pretty clear that “ that indulging polygamy was to lead a life of sin”. He’s not even going to begin on what she thought of him liking another boy (or that it lead to more yelling than him liking multiple people) He doesn’t want to doubt Brooke, or her kindness and understanding, but … he thought the same thing about his mom just a few months ago.</p><p> Sure, she was distant, and didn’t seem to care much about how Daniel was feeling, but Daniel could take care of himself! His mom gave birth to him, raised him nearly by herself, provided him with things before he could ask for them. So what if they weren’t so big on physical affection? Or, any affection at all, a small part of his brain whispers, the part that he always tries to silence.</p><p>Daniel was jolted out of his thoughts when Brooke lightly tapped his shoulder. She looked sad, even though Daniel didn’t quite know what she was sad about.</p><p> </p><p>“Danny, I won’t judge you. You know that, right?” Daniel wants to reassure her, say that he never doubted her, but he was tired of lying. His calf aches as he pivots towards her, and he knows that the second she sees his face, she’ll know.</p><p>He’s proven correct when they make eye contact and her eyes start to well with tears. She slowly wraps her arms around him, as though she’s afraid that he’ll bolt. Daniel’s not sure if she’s even wrong. As he sinks into the embrace, he can smell the salt of her sweat, and the citrusy smell of the perfume she must have put on earlier today. He relaxes and just breathes, lets one or two tears fall before he pushes them back.</p><p>“I hate her,” The words burst out of Brooke with an unexpected violence, and Daniel tenses slightly. “Don’t pretend that it wasn’t your mom who said something, I’ll know that you’re lying. Whatever she said, I don’t want to know what, I won’t be able to restrain myself from saying something to her. I’m barely restraining myself right now-!”</p><p>“Brooke,” Daniel knows that he has to interrupt her before she starts swearing, even though letting her rant it out would be an easy way out. He starts to breathe slowly and deeply, and backs a bit out of the embrace to give her space to breathe</p><p>“Oh, I’m sorry!” He can feel her taking deep and even breaths in time with him, trying to stop the hyperventilation. It takes a couple of minutes before she’s calm enough to continue.</p><p>“You okay now?” He backs away more, far enough that he can check for signs of persisting anxiety. She nods her head slowly, looking fine aside from the flush high on her cheeks. </p><p>“Danny, you’re too good,” She shushes him when he tries to talk, her gaze soft and somewhat wistful, “No, you’re so good, don’t try to argue. Here you are, with your mom having said things that have made you doubt yourself, and you just helped me with an anxiety attack. When we first met, you had a hard time seeing beyond your own problems. Now, you’re one of the most compassionate people that I know.”</p><p>Her gaze then turns determined, and she holds both of his forearms in her arms, waving them around slightly while she talks:</p><p>“You deserve happiness! Even if I can never understand how you feel about those two, I’ll still support you, no matter what!”</p><p>“Even if I start to like country music?” Brooke blinks and him, then scowls playfully.</p><p>“You drive a hard bargain Danny, but yes, even then! My dad would be disappointed, but he’s looking forward corrupting whatever boy or girl I end up bringing back home.” </p><p>Daniels somehow manages to smile even though he feels like the foundations of the very earth have been disrupted beneath his feet. Brooke accepts him. Instinctively, he knows that not everyone feels the same way his mother does. He even knows, from strangers on the internet, that his sexual orientation and other such things have no influence on the strength of his character. But it’s one thing to know, and another thing entirely to have someone he dated, someone he knows more intimately than he knows most people (and not just in the biblical sense) voice their support for him. </p><p>He feels something wet and warm trickle down both of his cheeks, and when he opens his eyes his vision is crowded by a haze of tears. Through the salty downpour, he can see Brooke crying too.</p><p>There was something cathartic about crying with one of his best friends in the whole world. It seems like a baptism, a clean start and something that offered complete absolution (despite the harshness of his mother’s beliefs, her belief in the sole existence of a wrathful and vengeful God... he believes in that whatever God there is must be kind and merciful, something softer than the God he was raised to believe in). He breathes in the salt-tinged air, revels in the warm touch of Brooke’s hands where they’re clasped lightly around his. It’s then, that he knows that he’ll remember this moment, even as age makes him forget everything else.</p><p>******************</p><p>They sit for what feels like 5 minutes and half a lifetime, watching the sun slant over the waves, and eventually start to dip below the horizon. The salt tinged air gains a cold bite, so Daniel reluctantly sits up from where he had collapsed on the rocks. As much as he would like to not move for a least another hour, nights got just cold enough up north to make him shiver. At his side, Brooke snorts:</p><p>“Wimp,” Daniel scowls down at her, flipping her off as she chuckles.</p><p>“Fuck off,”It’s the first things that either of them had said in what must have been an hour or two, and her voice was still slightly hoarse from crying. Daniel can’t imagine that he sounds that much better. Instead of continuing what was a brewing argument, he stretched out an arm to Brooke. Once she had pulled herself up, they walked together back towards where the academy could be vaguely seen in the distance.</p><p>It’s peacefully silent for a few moments, both of them carrying the shoes that they had kicked off on the way there, and the sand trickling in between his toes with each step. It looked as though they might spend the entire walk in silence when Brooke casually said:</p><p>“So, I heard that you and Hayley had an … interesting encounter the other day,” Embarrassingly enough, Daniel has to focus to keep himself from tripping over nothing. He fervently hoped that he wasn’t blushing, but Brooke’s stifled laughter suggested otherwise.</p><p>“Ahhh, yeah… That… Ummm, we’re cool now,” Daniel could have kicked himself for his awkward stuttering, because Brooke was like a shark in bloody water when it came to awkward.</p><p>“Oh, you’re cool now?” In response, Daniel glared harder at Brooke, taking a second to kick a footful of sand in her direction.</p><p>“Shut up”</p><p>“Fine, I’ll let you off easy this time,” Brooke grinned mischievously, successfully dodging Daniel’s wild fling. Daniel glowers, because he knows that she’s never going to let him live this down. It takes him a couple of moments to realize that there’s something that he’s noticed, something that Brooke and him hadn’t talked about. He feels a devious smirk build on his face, and as he turns to face Brooke, her eyes start to gain a wary shade to them, and she begins to shrink back. That look on Daniel’s face never means anything good. </p><p>“So, you and Sophie?” At this, Brooke sputters furiously, an almost perfect reflection of Daniel’s reaction just a couple of hours earlier. </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Wait, did you seriously think that I didn’t notice you two making goo-goo eyes at each other?”</p><p>“Sometimes I don’t know. You’re dense when it comes to romance. We’ve literally been dating for two weeks, and you’ve just brought it up.” At this, Daniel starts to sputter. But it’s not surprising that Brooke was able to get the upper hand. She might seem like a thoughtless blond at first, especially didn’t look inwards at the actual person past the glamorous facade. She was kind, but that was secondary to her wit and her intelligence. She had gotten him through more than one complicated calculus problem (fucking math, he knew something was up when they started adding letters). </p><p>“Rude! I came here to support you, not to be attacked,” Daniel stage whispers, enjoying the way that Brooke’s eyes crinkle up in response. “Also, you guys were pretty subtle about getting together.”</p><p>At this, Brooke turns her head and gives him the most pitying stare he thinks he’s ever been on the receiving end of. She doesn’t even bother to respond, just points to the shirt she’s wearing (he thinks it’s Sophie’s), the jacket she has draped over one arm (okay, yeah, that’s Sophie’s), and the scrunchie she’s wearing.</p><p>“No, you’re just unobservant, Danny.” Daniel sighs and winces at the same time. Now that he’s looking for it, Brooke borrowing someone else’s clothes is something that she only does for potential datemates. </p><p>“Ouch, low blow.”</p><p>“C’mon, I’ve definitely said worse.” At this Daniel shrugs. Yeah, she’s definitely said worse, but his pride can’t take so many attacks in a row before it rolls over and gives up. Metaphorically speaking. He’s brought back into the real world by a surprised noise from Brooke. </p><p>“What’s up buttercup?” Brooke gives him a stink eye for the endearment, but gestures her head in the direction of the slowly approaching academy.</p><p>“It’s getting dark, and I said I would meet up with Sophie soon. I’m not going to meet her without showering for a good long while first, which is a consideration I’m sure you never thought of.”</p><p>Daniel blinks. They’ve been walking and talking for some time now, and Daniel was so involved in the conversation that he didn’t even notice the sun disappearing beneath the horizon, leaving behind jewel-toned smears of red and gold that were rapidly fading into a dusky indigo. He turns to Brooke and grins mischievously.</p><p>“ Race you back?” Daniel shrieks when at his words, Brooke immediately speds off, calling back behind her as the distance between them lengthens:</p><p>“You’re on!” He stumbles for a second, swearing at her absolute cheating, but tears off after her. The night is filled with the sounds of threats and shrieking laughter, and Daniel can almost forget about the sinking feeling in his gut, Not quite, but just enough that he can breathe again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>please let me know what y'all think! i cover some pretty heavy topics in this chapter that i'm currently thinking about, especially the religion portion. have a good weekend and stay safe!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. chasing that horizon in our eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Daniel hasn’t had a bad running day in a long time. Days where the pain in his calf overpowers his need to let out energy, days where it takes more willpower than he feels comfortable admitting to drag himself out of bed, days that he thought were long behind him.</p><p>a.k.a another angst chapter with fluff and hard conversations and dumb jokes because that's all i'm capable of apparently</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey y'all! </p><p>exciting news, but i have finished writing all of the chapters for this fic! it is the first fic that i have ever finished, and i'm honestly so proud of how my writing style has developed over the last year, and how much more sophisticated my writing has become gotten. i'm so excited lol.</p><p>anyways, this chapter is pretty long, and i simultaneously really vibed with writing the starring side character and floundered with making her unique, if that makes any sense.  anyways, i hope that y'all enjoy the chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Daniel hasn’t had a bad running day in a long time. Days where the pain in his calf overpowers his need to let out energy, days where it takes more willpower than he feels comfortable admitting to drag himself out of bed, days that he thought were long behind him. He can remember his physical therapist mentioning that healing wasn’t linear, that he might have occasional pains in his leg years after this injury. </p><p>Daniel’s already regretting getting up that morning. Any other day, and he might have been able to appreciate the mist draping itself over the sand, and the way that the horizon seemed vague and nearly nonexistent in the distance. Now he can only focus on the cramps in his calf, cramps that had slowly gotten worse ever since he dragged himself out of bed thirty minutes ago. He’s close enough to the academy that he could just go back to his room, take a pain med and watch the mist slowly dissipate. However, he knows that if he turns back now, there will be nothing distracting him from what he had seen the night prior. His stomach drops at the thought of it, so Daniel resolutely focuses on the sound of blood rushing in his ears, the way that his legs have gone ever so slightly numb because he was wearing shorts.</p><p>So he pushes on, farther and farther until he can start to see the lights of residential areas, a clear sign that the border of the academy’s grounds was close. The mist distorts all light, making things look as uncertain as Daniel was feeling. Logically, he should have expected that this would happen. Of all people, the sexual tension between Hayley and Leo was the most clear to Daniel. But he had been hoping that they might wait for him, see that he feels the same way. It hurt more than he wanted to admit.</p><p>He knows that if he lets himself think about this anymore, his mental state is going to deteriorate beyond where it was already. So Daniel stops, drags his attention to the hoarseness in his throat, the warm burn in his overworked muscles, the way that he can feel his sweat condensing on skin in the cool morning air. It’s past when he usually turns around, and he can feel the muscles in his calf spasm weakly, so he heads back the way that he came at a lighter jog. He’s so focused on not thinking about the thing that he can’t think about that he runs headfirst into another person, both of them letting out sounds of surprise as they collapse backwards. </p><p>“Daniel , what the hell are you doing?” Daniel winces at the irritated tone, knowing without looking up just who he had run into. </p><p>“Sorry Sophie, just thinking.”</p><p>“Ah, I see, that’s your issue. When you think too hard bad things happen. Empty head, good fortune.” </p><p>Daniel makes a face at Sophie’s cobbled up saying, and reaches out a hand to the grumpy looking brunette. He should have known that she’d pull harder than necessary, and with a whirl of color he finds himself sprawled out on the sand, gasping at the sudden expulsion of breath from his lungs. He can hear Sophie chuckling from his right, and then feels cold fingers pinching the muscles of his upper arm. Daniel hisses at the sudden pain, and swats half-heartedly in Sophie’s direction.</p><p>“Seriously though, what the hell is up your ass this morning? You look more mopey than the elephant or whatever the fuck kind of animal it was from Winnie the Pooh.”<br/>
“Do you mean Eeyore?” Daniel asked incredulously, “How do you not know who Eeyore is?”</p><p>“Fuck you. Anyways, stop deflecting from the question. Although, I have a pretty good idea of what has your boxers in a twist.”</p><p>“I don’t wear boxers.”</p><p>“Uh huh, sure. Now spill Danny-boy.”</p><p>Daniel flushes at the nickname, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Sophie’s keen eyes. Knowing the goddamn menace, she’d probably said it on purpose. </p><p>“First off, only Hailey can call me that. You get a free pass today, but if you say it again I’ll make you eat dirt. Secondly, if you already know a-about the situation, why should I have to tell you anything?” Despite Daniel’s best efforts, he can’t stop the slight stutter from escaping. He knows that if he looked at Sophie right now that all he would see was pity. Not that he blamed her for thinking that. He was pretty pitiful afterall, unable to fess up to his own feelings in his own head, much less act upon them. They sit in uncomfortable silence for a long time, before Sophie finally speaks, her brash tone now replaced by something slow and cautious. </p><p>“Listen, I’m sorry if I pushed too hard, I know that we’re not all that close. Do you want to talk to Brooke about this instead?” The longer he goes without speaking, the more tense her voice gets, like a violin string two turns away from snapping, “Let’s forget that I ever brought this up, alright?” </p><p>“It’s ok. I’m sure that you didn’t know this was a … rough topic,” Daniel can feel some of the tension in the air dissipate, and he lets out the breath that he didn’t realize he was holding in. </p><p>“Still, I’m sorry that I pushed. I didn’t realize that, that it had gotten that serious on your end.” She pauses, waiting for some sort of signal from him (Daniel’s not sure what exactly), but she clearly finds what she’s looking for, as she relaxes and continues. “Half of the school doesn’t even know that you like both of them. I mean, they certainly don’t after what they did-”</p><p>Daniel interrupts Sophie quickly, wanting to explain why she shouldn’t be mad at them with an urgency that he was surprised by:</p><p>“It’s okay, I’m glad that they were able to find each other.” At Sophie’s incredulous look, he hastens to add, “I should be able to get over it.”</p><p>Hopefully, he adds in the back of his head, trying not to think of what would happen if he didn’t get his act together quickly.</p><p>“You know, it’s really weird to see you acting like a martyr when you were a Grade A jackass until a couple of months ago. The self-deprecation is a shit look on you, can I get the cocky bastard back please?” Sophie scoffs at the glare that Daniel sends her way, “What, were you expecting me to agree with you?”</p><p>“Well, yeah? That’s the general impression that I’ve been getting from everyone else?”</p><p>“Daniel, clearly everyone else has not noticed the way that Leo’s eyes are glued to your thighs everytime you walk past him in shorts. And!-” She continues as Daniel opens his mouth to deny this, “Hayley is a little more subtle, I’ll give her that, but the level of UST when the two of you talk is astronomical.”</p><p>“UST” Daniel was still reeling from her blunt words, and he didn’t think that it was possible for Sophie to look more irritated than she already did, but he was clearly wrong.</p><p>“Unresolved sexual tension, Christ will you get with the times you boomer?”</p><p>“Don’t call me a boomer.”</p><p>“Then don’t act like a boomer, boomer.” </p><p>At Daniel’s sullen silence, she continues, sitting up on her elbows and smirking triumphantly. “Why are you so shocked about the fact that they’re interested in you? Actually, scratch that, I don’t want to hear about your mommy issues. Fact is, if you don’t get with the program soon loverboy, you’ll miss the entire fucking train. I don’t think you want to do that.”</p><p>“Has anyone ever told you that you’re the human equivalent of bitter tar coffee?”</p><p>“No, but thank you for the compliment.” She spins around to face him, tucking her claves underneath her thighs, and leans forward slightly. Daniel leans towards her unconsciously, trying to get over the feeling a whiplash that he associated with Sophie and her blunt mannerisms. He thinks fondly about the days when Sophie barely talked to him, before she and Brooke became a couple two months ago. Ah, ignorance was bliss.</p><p>“Hey, stop ignoring me you noob! I’ve got better things to do but help you with your wishy washy feelings, you should be honored that I’m even telling you this.”</p><p>“Ah, yes, what would I ever do without your attempts at matchmaking?”</p><p>“Take long ass naps, eat large quantities of junk food that go straight to your ass, and continue to irritate everyone with your dismal aura of gloom.” She taps her finger against her chin thoughtfully, “You know, I don’t think Leo or Hayley would mind the junk food part. They’re certainly obsessed with your ass already.”</p><p>“I just want to let you know that I feel supremely uncomfortable about you talking about my ass. What would Brooke say if she was here?”</p><p>“Well, she’d probably agree with me.” Daniel was willing to not call out the almost reverent way that Sophie said Brooke’s name, but she’d taken enough potshots that he didn’t care anymore.</p><p>“God, you’re so whipped. When should I expect an invite to the wedding?” Sophie gives him a look, although the small blush along her cheeks was obvious enough.</p><p>“Well, we’re not getting married until she gets through PA school, and I get my law degree.”</p><p>“Wait, wait, you’ve already talked about this?” </p><p>Sophie rolls her eyes at what he thought was a perfectly reasonable question.</p><p>“Daniel, we’ve been friends for half of our lives. We decided that we both wanted a spring wedding in the 6th grade.” Sophie’s happy grin (one that he’s come to associate with Brooke), morphs into a lecherous grin, “Besides, lesbians move fast and last long.”</p><p>“Brooke is bisexual though.” Daniel’s still trying to figure if what Sophie said was an innuendo in the back of his mind. Gosh, he would do anything for when Sophie and him were barely on speaking terms.</p><p>“Potay-to,potah-to. The same principle applies.” Daniel can recognize when he’s lost this round of bickering, so he slumps backwards from where he was hovering on his elbows, hitting the cold sand with a loud “ooph”.</p><p>They sit there in the quiet, infinitely more comfortable than the one that they shared not ten minutes ago. The mist was starting to clear, revealing the outline of Greenhouse Academy where it was invisible before. He marvelled at how Sophie was able to change his outlook on the entire situation, going from resigned to what he could almost call… hopeful. Daniel hoped that the camaraderie that they had developed would last, and that the tension and derision that colored their relationship before would remain absent. He needed Sophie’s particular brand of persuasion (i.e. bulldozing) in his life, which is something that he never thought that he’d say. It seemed that despite fucking up his chances at leadship and sports positions, his messed up calf had brought him friends from the most unlikely promises, and a change at a future that held none of the obligations that had been pounded into him by his mother. </p><p>“Thanks Sophie,” Daniel tries to push all of the gratitude and relief that he was feeling into those two words, and it seemed as though Sophie got it by the way that the severe lines between her eyebrows smoothed. </p><p>“What are you thanking me for? All I did was insult you.” There was no heat in her words though, hadn’t been during their entire conversation. “You’re a weird one Eeyore.”</p><p>“Don’t pretend like you’re not, Rabbit.”</p><p>“Yo, why’d you call me a rabbit?”</p><p>“Not a rabbit, I mean Rabbit. You know, the one from Winnie the Pooh?”</p><p>“Did you just call me a crotchety bachelor whose only personality trait is being argumentative?”</p><p>“Well, if the shoe fits.”</p><p>“It doesn’t fit! I’m not a bachelor.”</p><p>“Not gonna argue about the rest of it?” Daniel’s full on grinning at this point, sitting fully upright as he watches Sophie shrug nonchalantly.</p><p>“Nah, that’s pretty accurate.” She suddenly stands up, and reaches out a hand to Daniel. “Come on, class’s gonna start soon. Not sure that either of us can afford another tardy at this point.”</p><p>“Alright, alright.” He grabs her hand and heaves himself to his full height. They walk back shoulder to shoulder, bickering the entire way back to the dorms.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ahhh! please let me know what y'all think, apologies for any and all grammatical errors. also, let me know what you think of sophie's characterization. like i said before, not quite sure if exactly got her brand of idgaf quite right, but we're trying.</p><p>also, please don't ask where the winnie the pooh references came from. i legit have no idea either.</p><p>the next chapter will be coming in two weeks!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. with eyes shut, it's you i'm thinking of</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They stood there for a moment, silent except for the rush of seawater as it broke along the shoreline. It was quiet, it was peaceful, and if Daniel didn't say something soon, he would lose his nerve.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>heyo, this update is very late because 2021 is kicking my ass and i'm tired. i really have been neglecting writing, and i forgot how happy it makes me. </p><p>anyways, this chapter has mentions of sexual activities, so if that's not your jam stop reading at "he remembered rounded eyes looking up at him" and start reading again at "daniel was tired of pretending."</p><p>chapter title inspo: "little bit" by lykke li</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s only three days after the incident when Leo comes running up behind him, easily matching the thud of Daniel’s feet hitting the ground with his own. Daniel spares a glance at the man beside him, slightly amused by the way Leo’s hair flopped over his forehead every other beat. Not that he’d ever actually say anything to the smug bastard. </p><p>“You’re pretty hard to find Daniel.” Leo said, huffing lightly between strides.</p><p>“Hmm.”</p><p>Daniel didn’t deign to respond past that, and they fell into an vaguely uncomfortable silence. They ran in sync for a few minutes, only stopping when they reached the old pier. Daniel began his arm stretches, valiantly trying to ignore the hitched breath beside him as he pulled his elbow behind his head. Daniel knew that he was attractive, and a small part of him preened at Leo’s response, but a much larger part wanted whatever awkward tension between the two to disappear. </p><p>“Did Hayley make you come talk to me?”</p><p>Leo sputtered loudly, which was answer enough. His face flushed, and from behind the folds of his ever present jacket Daniel could see that the redness continued past his collar bones. Interesting. </p><p>“What makes you say that?” Leo gesticulates wildly, “Couldn’t I have come to talk with you by myself?”</p><p>“No” Daniel says, then smirks at Leo’s increased bluster, “Remember that week, wait sorry, those two weeks that basically all you did was run away from Hayley.”</p><p>“That doesn’t count!”</p><p>“How about when Aspen immediately knew that something had happened between you and Hayley while she was gone?”</p><p>“No, there’s no way that she knew that!” Leo’s brow furrowed, and his face went pale. He groaned and dropped his head into his hands with a distinctive thud, “How did she know that?”</p><p>“You were embarrassingly obvious dude."</p><p>With this, Leo removed his face from his hands, and peered accusingly at Daniel, eyes losing some of their panicked sheen.</p><p>“How did you know? As far as I knew, you were still ignoring the fact that people existed other than yourself.”</p><p>Shit. Daniel opened his mouth, ready to argue half-heartedly.</p><p>“I’m not wrong. You got better, but I’m not wrong.”</p><p>Daniel closed his mouth with a soft snap. He wanted to be upset by this, he really did, but Leo had a point. The combination of stress and pain at the beginning of the year had turned him into more of a raging asshole than he normally was. But he wasn't planning on answering Leo's first question in this moment, maybe not ever.</p><p>“Fine,” He huffed, hoping that Leo would drop the subject. Uncharacteristically, Leo continued, the slight tremble in his voice the only sign that he was still the same coward.</p><p>“Why do you know anything about that?” ‘About me and Hayley’ went unsaid but still heard. “Answer me truthfully. Why did last night happen?”</p><p>Daniel pressed his lips together so hard that they started tingling.</p><p>“You were there, you tell me.” Daniel said.</p><p>“Daniel, I can guess why, but I’d rather hear it from you,” Leo said softly, eyes still missing their usual spark of mischief. </p><p>The left side of his face was lit up in orange hues, illuminated by the sun just breaking over the horizon, and there’s a smear of god knows what near the top of his left ear. Daniel has the inexplicable urge to reach up and wipe it off. He remembered rounded eyes looking up at him, the swipe of a tongue over a mouth, over another mouth, over yet another mouth. He remembered how the light pouring in from the rain streaked window had danced over the swell of Hayley's chest, and soft inward curve of Leo's stomach. He remembered following the light's path with his fingers. He remembered Hayley harsh words and Leo's silence as he ran away from them, choking on a rush of fear and shame. Suddenly, Daniel was tried of pretending that he didn't care about either of them</p><p>"I don't know."</p><p>Leo's head jerked up from where he had been studying the sand, mouth slightly agape. This time, Daniel didn't even try to stop himself from affectionately curling his hand around Leo's jawline, gently closing his mouth. Leo's mouth was stiff under his thumb, and Daniel could see how the rest of his body was still, hands halfway between Daniel's arm and Leo's jacket pocket. Slowly, Leo leaned into Daniel's touch, stepping closer and lightly resting his hand on Daniel's forearm. He captured Daniel's other hand in a loose grip, fingers interlocking with a new and yet familiar ease. They stood there for a moment, silent except for the rush of seawater as it broke along the shoreline. It was quiet, it was peaceful, and if Daniel didn't say something soon, he would lose his nerve.</p><p>"I don't know why last night happened. But I wasn't surprised" Daniel said in one breath, lightly rubbing his thumb along the side of Leo's wrist. He knew that he would be able to say what needed to be said if he looked at Leo's face, "I don't think that you were surprised either. Hayley certainly wasn't."</p><p>Leo huffed quietly, lightly squeezing Daniel's hand, "Yeah, she was the first of us to realize that something was there," he said.</p><p>Daniel grinned, suddenly wishing that Hayley was here with them. She would have Leo's hand on his forearm laced with her own hand, and she would be touching Daniel with her soft hands that had yet to develop calluses from guitar playing.</p><p>"She should be here" Daniel said, Leo quirked an eyebrow at him in return. "I mean that we should be having this conversation with Hayley in the vicinity."</p><p>Leo froze comically, and then started nodding his head frantically, dislodging Daniel's hand</p><p>"She was terrifying when I forgot to tell her that Thursday was laundry day, and she tried to do her laundry at midnight on Friday, and set off  the fire alarm, and the emergency sprinklers sprayed her with cold water. I thought she was going to bury me alive" Leo said, shuddering. " I think that her reaction to this will be much worse if we don't stop talking about ... Stuff."</p><p>Daniel's chest flooded with warmth as Leo blushed, and he brought his hand around Leo's shoulder into a tight hug. </p><p>"I don't deserve you, I'm sorry, " Daniel said into Leo's wildly frizzing hair, " I don't deserve either of you. I ran away like a coward. I left you both hanging."</p><p>"Hey," Leo said seriously, lifting his head to look at Daniel's face. His expression softened at whatever he saw. "You made a couple of mistakes. A lot of them were douchebag-level. But you've apologized for most of them, and tomorrow we can clean the slate. Start over new"</p><p>Daniel stared disbelievingly at this caring person, someone who had decided that Daniel was worthy of forgiveness and friendship, and implied that he would give more than that. He could feel trails of wet warmth begin to ease down his cheeks.</p><p>"Hey, don't ruin your pretty face with tears, it'll make you look like an old crotchety man." Leo said, squishing Daniel's cheeks with entirely too much zeal.</p><p>Daniel made an affronted noise, and proceeded to push Leo over, cracking up when he tumbled to the ground, mouth in a wide o"o". He wasn't laughing quite as much when Leo kicked his legs out from underneath him. But as they tumbled back and forth under the newly risen moon, the lAst rays of sunlight sinking below the waves, Daniel's leg didn't hurt at all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ahh, we're so close to the end of this story, it only took me more than a year to get here... (sweatdrop)</p><p>as always, let me know what y'all think about this update! (love it, hate it, areas where grammar needs to be corrected, whatever it is) thank you so much for taking the time to read, and i hope that your weekend is wonderful!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i absolutely feel daniel in this chapter. mornings have never been my favorite. hayley represents everyone who has seen me in the morning. thanks for reading and please send some love in the form of electronic validation (aka kudos and comments if you really like my crack writing)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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